Great people

The village of Milies, the capital of the municipality, is the birthplace of three of the most eminent Greek scholars, Anthimos Gazis, Grigorios Konstantas and Daniel Filippidis. The first two were responsible for the creation of the famous school “Psichis Akos” (soul treatment).

Anthimos Gazis, the scholar priest from Milies, lit the flame of the revolution in Milies on the 7th of May, 1821, along with his fellow countrymen Ioannis Dimos and Kostas Razis. The people of Milies have a fine history of local and national fighting. From all those who fought for their country, Kostas Garefis is the most renown figure, a fighter during the fight for the liberation of Macedonia.

The well known sculptor, Nicolas, was the donator of the famous cultural center of Milies. Many of his works are exhibited in the Museum in Agios Georgios, which itself was also a donation from Nicolas. The Tsirogiannis brothers from Pinakates, immigrants from Egypt, were the donators of the water spring in the village square, which is a remarkable spot, even though its architecture doesn’t exactly match the architecture of the village.

The Italian engineer Evaristo De Chirico, the father of the famous surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico, was the man that constructed the famous railway line from Volos to Milies.Even today the visitor can admire the fine construction work, most notably, the 9 stone-built bridges, the well known iron bridge near Milies, and a number of impressive tunnels, all of which are seen along the route of the railway line.

Nikolaos Tsitsilianos, born in Vyzitsa, an immigrant from Egypt, was the man who donated the hospital of Kala Nera, which bears his name. For many years, until the early'70s, the hospital provided support for all residents of the surrounding area. The starting point for the development of entrepreneurial activity in Kala Nera was the Soap and Olive oil industry of the Serafopoulos of brothers. The three brothers set up a truly innovative industry in Kala Nera , which ran until 1929 and accounted for the start of economic development in the village.